1. Field of the Invention
This invention generally pertains to pouring spouts for the transfer of material from containers to receiving destinations and more particularly to a pouring spout with functionality to control the flow of material through it, while inverting and positioning said container and spout.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Many devices exist to assist in the transfer of liquids or other pourable solid materials from a storage or supply container, to a destination container, or piece of equipment. One such specific example is the pouring of lubricating oil from the supply container into an engine located in a vehicle. In such an example the typical supply container has a roughly circular neck and spout, which may have a threaded on cap or closure. The destination or receiving location for transfer of said lubrication oil is typically an opening located on the engine and can be positioned deep in the engine compartment and surrounded by obstructions such as hoses or other structure. Such tight locations or obstructions make it difficult to begin pouring a mostly full, uncapped container of said oil by inverting said container and quickly positioning said container spout into said receiving opening on said engine, without spilling said oil. Well known is the use of a funnel, which can have one end installed into the receiving opening while having the other end held in an open area where the inversion of said oil container can occur without obstruction, and pouring can commence without spillage. However a funnel is not always available and also may require clean out after use to remove left over oil and also introduces foreign matter from the last use. Without an available funnel the user is left with trying to invert an uncapped, mostly full container of oil while quickly attempting to insert said containers spout into the receiving opening in the engine, all while the pouring has started. This attempt typically results in spillage.
Some applications, because of obstructions surrounding the receiving opening, or size differences between the receiving opening and the containers spout, will not allow the container spout to be inserted in said receiving opening. In this case said container is inverted and said spout is located above the receiving opening, while the user suspends the container over the opening, during the pouring process. This process typically results in spillage.
Multiple pouring spouts have been previously designed and put in practice, and have to some degree provided solutions to the problem. These designs are typically difficult to store, awkward to operate, require cleaning after use, and are not usually disposable. Therefore, it is the general object of this invention to improve upon the prior art.